


Those the War Forgot – Arc Two: Honor-Guard

by CanineR7A7



Series: Those the War Forgot [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Carolina Lives, Carolina needs a hug, Extra fluff, Fluff and Angst, Most of the characters need hugs, Other, Past Brainwashing, Past Torture, Set five months after Arc One, Side order of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-25 04:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16189943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineR7A7/pseuds/CanineR7A7
Summary: The person known as Chicago is found, but he’s not willing to trust the Freelancers. When the Director’s daughter is found alive and more is discovered about the new threat everyone has to choose, join together and face it head on, or die trying.





	1. Chapter 1




	2. Chapter 1 - Friend or Foe

They came to a stop in a small clearing; they’d been searching the planet for days and had yet to find any traces of Chicago.

“I’m telling you, we won’t find anything.” South bit out for the fifth time, York sighed, he didn’t necessarily disagree with her, but they all hated going back empty handed.

“I mean, is the kid even still alive? Either of them?” It was a good point, if this Lockwood person did know something then he’d have probably been killed by now, yet the group in the video file had been hunting him.

“Chicago’s alive, that group wouldn’t be hunting him if he wasn’t.” Thankfully C.T. could be relied on to say exactly what he was thinking without South snapping at her.

“Oh yeah? The girl too? The last time Tex saw her she was five and the Director didn’t seem too keen to tell us anything, how can we be sure the girl really is their kid?” Another good point, York didn’t want to say their leaders were holding on to blind hope, but it did sound a bit far-fetched. They trudged on until they found two sets of tire tracks, Wash crouched to get a better look.

“One’s a military jeep, the other one’s civilian.” Strange, this planet didn’t have many settlements, not enough to warrant a military base.

“Everyone stay close.” York raised his shotgun slightly, the others following his example as they followed the tracks. An hour passed before a twig snapping could be heard near them.

“Who’s there?” A laugh sounded as a figure materialised in front of them wearing black raider armour with dim grey shoulders.

“Well, what do we have here?” He sounded slightly insane but he held himself with the air of a seasoned soldier, York kept his gun pointed at the stranger’s chest.

“We asked first.” The soldier raised a weapon less hand and a figure materialised behind him, one that was easily taller than Maine, wearing brown CIO armour with black arms.

“I go by Nocturnal; my buddy over there is Hammer. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Just as he said that the sound of a gun being cocked sounded behind them, there was no doubt that they outnumbered the people surrounding them, but they hadn’t travelled all this way to fight.

“Go on, shoot me.” Sensing a trap, York lowered his gun. Nocturnal darted forward, the next thing he knew his arms were pinned behind his back and an arm was wrapped around his throat.

“Fellas, bring the jeeps around.” The two jeeps they’d been tracking appeared, one was a troop transporting warthog, the other an orange civilian vehicle.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen, you guys are going to load your weapons onto that jeep and get in the other one. Do it before I blow your pal’s head off.” The Freelancers did as instructed, watching as two figures in mark VI armour, one in green, the other in olive, climbed into the front. They felt the jeep start, keeping their eyes on the one carrying their weapons.

“Nocturnal to Home Base, Nocturnal to Home Base, do you read me?” They turned their attention to their captors.

“Home Base to Nocturnal, we read you loud and clear.” The speaker’s voice was more serious than Nocturnal’s.

“Picked up a couple of stragglers, is the Boss there?”

“Red leader is out scouting. Blue leader’s asleep and I don’t want to be the one to wake them up.” They were keeping their leaders’ identities secret, though the Freelancers would likely learn who they were before the day was up.

“What do I do with them then?”

“Lock them in one of the holding cells; Red leader’ll meet them later.”

“Roger that Home Base, over and out.” The rest of the journey passed in silence until they reached a structure. It resembled a UNSC outpost but there was no record of the UNSC venturing here. More figures exited the building, surrounding the Freelancers as they were lead to a room.

“In you go. The leader will see you when he gets back.” So they were male?


	3. Chapter 2 - Reunion

They didn’t know how long they’d been there until the door slid open; Nocturnal, Hammer, and two other figures entered. The one wore aqua rogue armour; the other stood a head taller with black warrior armour, red visor gazing at them. The aqua one leaned against the wall as the taller one took a seat in front of them.

“Who are you?” His voice wasn’t as deep as they thought it would be but it still held an air of authority.

“I’m York; this is South, C.T., Maine, North, Wyoming and Wash.” Nocturnal scoffed.

“Those sound made up. Code-names?” York just shrugged.

“Figured I’d follow your example.” To his surprise, the man sat in front of him laughed.

“In that case, name’s Chicago, lovely lady behind me is Carolina.” They’d found them, they actually found them. The man instantly turned serious.

“Now, tell me what your business is here.” York slid the data card over to him, watching as he examined it.

“We found that on an assignment. Our boss sent us off with two instructions; one, show Chicago that file, and two, she wants to speak with you and the other person mentioned in it.” Chicago seemed to consider him before inserting the card into a data screen, the tension in the air rising the longer the video went on for.

“Wolf, doesn’t know when to let things go.” The man growled before pacing, the other three watching on in concern.

“You said your boss wanted a word?” York just nodded; Chicago seemed to consider his options before sliding over a modified communicator.

“Fuck it put the frequency in there.” York did as instructed, the image of Allison instantly flickering onto the screen. Chicago stumbled back as though something had burned him.

“Anderson? Is that really you?” Chicago hesitated before removing his helmet, messy black hair, golden eyes and a scar cutting through his right temple.

“Allison Church, it’s a surprise to see you Ma’am.” If she was surprised by his tone she said nothing.

“I understand that you’re angry Anderson, is Carolina with you?” He glanced over his shoulder, the aqua figure removing her helmet, fiery red hair with emerald green eyes. The woman froze upon seeing Allison.

“Carolina?”

“Mom? What? No. You’re dead. I’m dreaming again aren’t I?” Anderson hurried over to her, quickly folding his arms around her.

“Shh, it’s okay, this is real, I see her too okay? We don’t have to do this now.” She shuddered against him and he motioned for Nocturnal to get her out of the room.

“Contact Fang and Claw, they know what to do.” Nocturnal nodded, Anderson waited for them to leave before turning back to the screen.

“I understand that whatever you have to say is important Ma’am, but my priority is to my team.”

“I understand Anderson, I’m sorry that this was sprung on you, both of you.” The man nodded.

“Anything I held against you has long since been buried but I can’t say the same for her.” Allison nodded in agreement.

“That being said, I’m not completely heartless. I’ll talk to Carolina about this too, wait until tomorrow night – this planet’s tomorrow night – we can either talk then or we won’t, it’s entirely her decision.” Allison nodded; Anderson went to shut off the connection but halted at her voice.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad she has you.”

“We have each other.” He smiled briefly before powering off the system; he picked up his helmet and glanced at the Freelancers.

“I’m allowing you to free roam the base, but there are some conditions. First, if you want to use the training facility one of us needs to be there. Second, no accessing any terminal without permission. Finally, don’t ask anyone about their past.” The Freelancers nodded their agreement and watched as the man put on his helmet before leading them out the door.


	4. Chapter 3 - A Troubled Mind

 

The Freelancers followed Chicago to the mess hall, watching as he walked over to two other people, one in white armour, the other in temptress (red). The Freelancers spread around the room, York walked up to Chicago and the other two. The man turned around when he heard the Freelancer approach, not quite smiling beneath the helmet.

“Hey Chicago.” York greeted, he decided it would be best to talk to the group’s leader, the last thing he wanted was to cause any unnecessary fights.

“York. This is Daughter, and Skeleton.” The white one must be Skeleton if the rosewood (red) skull on his visor was anything to go by, the man grunted in greeting.

“Sorry if I offend you but, why Daughter?” The other man scoffed.

“Parents thought I was gonna be a girl, they named me three days after I was born. You’re not the first to ask and you won’t be the last.” So the meanings behind their codenames was a safe topic, good to know.

“What about you, what’s the story with York?” York just shrugged.

“Don’t know, the Director gave us our codenames.” Chicago removed his helmet, brow furrowed in thought.

“I know Allison didn’t care what a person’s codename was so she’s not the director.” York watched as the man’s eyes widened in horror.

“Don’t tell me.”

“What?” York asked, he had no idea what was going on at this point.

“The Director, what does he look like?” There was an urgency to Chicago’s voice, York was beginning to think their leaders had left something out of their story.

“Greying hair, green eyes.” He really wasn’t seeing what the problem was.

“His name, do you know his name?” Chicago grabbed his shoulders, clearly close to panicking.

“Uhh, Leonard I think?” Chicago recoiled as though someone had shot him, hands fisting in his hair.

“Fuck. That complicates things.” The man started pacing, the other two watching him in concern.

“I don’t know what to do now.”

“Boss?” Skeleton stepped forward, hand reaching hesitantly towards Chicago’s shoulder.

“At the end of the day it’s her choice whether she speaks to either of them.” Chicago was obviously talking about Carolina at this point.

“There’s a but isn’t there?” York asked the other two, both of them nodding seriously.

“But, I made a promise to her, I promised her that I’d never let him anywhere near her again.” So something had happened between the Director and Carolina, but what?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” York stated in an attempt to calm the man down, breathing a silent sigh of relief when the man took a breath.

“I know, you had no reason to and I guess the old man wasn’t too keen on sharing anything.” His tone was bitter, so two of them had issues with the Director, that probably meant the others did as well.

“I’m going to find Carolina; she needs to know he’s involved.” Chicago went to leave but stopped when saw Skeleton slump forward hands pressing against his helmet.

“Fuck. Daughter, go and get Chuckles.” The man nodded and returned a few minutes later with a figure wearing blue and blue stone armour The figure immediately walked over to Skeleton, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and supporting his front with the other.

“I’m taking him to the med bay.”

“I’m coming to.” Daughter stated, leaving no room for arguments.

“Fine, just stay out of the way.” The three of them left leaving Chicago and York to their conversation.

“Are they?”

“Yes.”

“Chuckles?” York’s brow furrowed, the codename didn’t seem to suit him.

“The guy’s always been too serious for his own good, we started calling him Chuckles as a joke.” Fair enough.

“Listen, I have to go and talk to Carolina now. I may not trust any of you right now but I’m glad you told me about him.” York nodded and watched as Chicago left the room, North walked up to him.

“What was all that about?”

“One of them is getting checked out. Chicago’s conflicted.” North tilted his head in confusion, York sighed.

“Looks like the bosses left a few details out of their story.” North stepped back in thought.

“To be fair, from what we’ve heard, Texas doesn’t know anything about what happened after she last saw her kid.” So Tex was in the dark too, at least they knew the only issue the group had with her would likely be cleared up soon.

“What about the Director, I mean he seemed worried about his daughter, but there must be some history there if Chicago promised to keep Carolina away from him.”

“Wait, Chicago’s protecting her from him?” York just nodded, that’s what it sounded like.

“Come to think of it, the Director didn’t seem willing to share anything while we were searching for them. Only thing is, is that because he didn’t want us to find them, or because he regrets what happened between them?” North just shrugged.

“No idea, all I know is that one of them has some explaining to do, and I doubt it’s Chicago or Carolina.


	5. Chapter 4 - Whirlwind of Death

 

South didn’t think much of the two figures behind her, one in camarone (green), the other in verdun green – Fang and Claw, twin brothers. Sure the two of them reminded her of herself and North before they’d joined Freelancer, but she doubted they were the strongest fighters on the team. Instead she focused on the sparring session in the room below them. Chicago and Carolina, she’d love to hear the meaning behind those names, the two of them fought as though they had been Freelancers all their lives despite only recently learning of their existence. There was one key difference though, the two of them sparred as if they were actively trying to kill the other, she would’ve thought they were if not for the grins fixed on their faces.

“What’s the deal with those two?” She tilted her head to the figure closest to her.

“Anderson taught her how to fight so their base styles are the same. But his fighting style relies on raw strength and power, hers uses speed and precision. They balance each other out.” She watched as Chicago landed a very painful looking blow just below her ribs, Carolina recovering before he could swing another one.

“How balanced are they?” It was Fang who answered her this time.

“They both know all the weak spots on the human body. Anderson’s style is best suited to enclosed spaces, all he has to do is wait for someone to drop their guard and he can deal some damage to them, only problem is his style relies on his blows to be strong enough to temporarily incapacitate them long enough to prepare another punch, too little force and they won’t give him the chance to get that spot again.” Which was proven true as he aimed a kick this time at the same spot, Carolina easily jumping his leg before launching off his chest, making him stumble back.

“Carolina on the other hand, relies on wide open areas. She needs to be able to get in, land as many quick and precise blows as she can, and get the hell out before they get the chance to recover.” She watched as the woman in question darted in again, landing a few blows against his side, head and leg before moving out of range, Chicago stumbling before charging after her.

“Only problem it’s really easy for someone with that fighting style to get repetitive, eventually her opponent will be able to raise their guard in time, or at least move out of the way enough for the strikes to do less damage.” She watched as Carolina jumped in again, angling a kick towards his head only for him to block it and knock her back. It was a show of trust, South thought, that the brothers were freely sharing this information. They must know she could easily head back to the others and have Maine square off against Chicago, the guy may be tough but there were few stronger than Maine.

“Your thoughts?” Claw asked cheekily.

“It’s like watching a whirlwind of death fight another whirlwind of death.” The brothers laughed at her comment, Fang good-naturedly punching her shoulder.

“I think that’s the best way they’ve been described.”

“Yeah, you think that’s good you should see them fighting together. Hell, Overseer had to move both of them to first place cause he got tired of switching them.” Claw stated.

“Overseer?” The man coughed before shrugging, obviously having said more than he meant to.

“It’s a long story, one we can’t discuss unless the others agree.” Fair enough.


	6. Chapter 5 - Decisions

 

Anderson and Carolina finished their training session once they’d decided they’d bruised each other enough. Anderson looked up when a towel landed on his head, smirking as he tossed a water bottle over to Carolina.

“Feel better?” She nodded as she took a swig, sighing as she worked the soreness out of her limbs.

“I don’t know what to do.” Anderson took a seat on one of the benches, waiting for her to join him before speaking.

“I guess this is meant to be the whole, ‘at least you still have your parents’ speech, but I know better than that.” She obviously hadn’t expected him to say that if the expression on her face was any indication.

“Allison obviously survived that mission, which should be good news, I guess. But that just adds another problem, if she’s been alive all these years, then why has she only now gotten into contact? Surely she would’ve at least tried years ago. I’m not saying that she doesn’t have her reasons, but it’s strange that we’ve only heard from her today.” Carolina nodded, she’d missed her mom for years and finding out that she was alive had been both amazing and frustrating at the same time.

“Now for your dad.” Anderson’s voice had gained an unpleasant snarl, the kind he only got when he spoke of him.

“There’s no excuse for what he did to you, dead wife or not, you don’t start doing that shit to your only child when they’re grieving too. Hell this guy almost killed you and now we know he’s in charge of our guests, I don’t know what to think.” He sighed in frustration.

“On one hand you deserve answers, deserve to know why it’s taken this long to hear from her, deserve to know if he’s at all regretful for what happened.” He lightly grabbed her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles.

“But, on the other hand, we’re talking about a man who broke a bottle over your head, a man who did nothing while you were bleeding out in your bed. I made a promise to you years ago, that I’d never let him anywhere near you again.” He sighed again, shoulders slumping as he thought.

“Hell, my parents wouldn’t’ve won any parent of year awards, but at least I knew they were trying.” She gently squeezed his hand, she hadn’t been there for him when his parents died, her dad wouldn’t have let her. Though he’d reassured her countless times, she couldn’t help but feel guilty about it.

“At the end of the day it’s your choice. If you don’t want anything to do with them, we’ll get the information we need about Wolf and his crew, then we’ll send the Freelancers off. If you want to hear them out, I’m right behind you, we all are. Whatever happens I’ll be right beside you. All I’m going to say is this, this might be your only chance to talk to them again, and at the end of the day, only you can decide what to do with this chance.” He pulled her gently against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around her. Neither of them were aware that Wash had overheard their entire conversation.


End file.
